Chapter 97



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“What do you want?”

Hayden thought Joseph had released his grip on her, but before she could find her feet after breaking free from his restraint, she was dragged by him into the meeting room, her head was spinning like crazy from the sudden movement.

The thunderous slam of the door echoed through the room as she was shoved against the huge conference table in an instant.

Hayden looked up with a ghastly expression on her face and shrieked as she was overcome with embarrassment and vexation, “What the hell are you doing now?”

“Have a little self-respect?”. Joseph tugged at her tie to loosen it and slapped his hands on either side of her, imprisoning her on the conference table. His countenance fell as he gave her a condescending look, “Now I’m curious, do you always act casual and ask guys to have some self-respect after you sleep with them?”

He was perplexed to see that he was the only one still thinking about the ‘accident’ that had happened that night after all these years.

Hayden turned his head to the side, leaning his cheek against the table to avoid her intense gaze. Her action had fanned his displeasure and compounded his anger as he hissed, “I’m sorry if you took the incident that night to heart, or if it’s been on your mind ever since. I’m afraid I’ve given you the wrong impression, as I have no feelings for you, Mr. Beckham. I’m not playing hard to get, so please let go of me now.”

“Okay.” Joseph’s hand slid around her waist, sneering as he fumed with rage, “Very well.”

A wave of shivers passed over her as his hand moved down her body, making her shiver uncontrollably. Hayden’s face went pale and he was horrified, “What are you doing? Let go of me.”

“Didn’t you say this kind of thing didn’t bother you at all? What do you care then if it happens one more time?”.

Hayden was dumbfounded at her words, and instinctively made a last-ditch effort to free herself from her bondage right after her humiliating remark. However, it was futile in the face of Joseph’s dominating force over her.

Her action had instantly ignited all of Joseph’s fury at seeing his self-esteem trampled by her in such a blatant manner. It was the first time he had ever paid attention to a woman, but all he had gotten in return was that ‘it was all an illusion’, and that itself had disgraced his ego.

Suddenly, a resounding slap echoed through the meeting room. Hayden had somehow used his last bit of strength to free himself from his bondage as he stared at him after delivering the slap.

Joseph froze on the spot as his actions came to a screeching halt, while a handprint could be seen materializing on his cheek in just a few moments.

“You bastard!” Hayden shoved him away fleeing the room in a state of disarray and panic.

Joseph pulled up a nearby chair and proceeded to take a seat while stroking his swollen and sore cheek long after Hayden had taken flight.

What had he done, had he gone mad?

…

After leaving the ST Group, Hayden returned to the hotel to request a half-day leave to take the afternoon off. She locked herself in her room, slept through the afternoon with Joseph’s crazed reaction and behavior this morning still stuck in her head.

Despite being overwhelmed with rage at his actions, she realized that her heart was stirring with inchoate emotions towards him.

If it weren’t for the existence of the incident six years ago in which she was blackmailed, maybe….

She prevented herself from continuing her thoughts and forced herself to forget what had happened by slapping her cheeks, shortly after which she fell asleep. In the afternoon, after waking up from her long nap, she went to pick up Stella at the Kindergarten.

Alayna was lying on the couch next to Hayden with a facemask on her face when she asked, “Are you going on a business trip to GX City? Who gave the order? Isn’t Joseph trying to woo you? Where is he going with his plan asking you to go to a faraway place?”

Hayden averted his gaze as he lowered his head to pack his belongings. “It was arranged by the company, and I have no relationship with Joseph, so don’t be ridiculous and watch your tongue, Alayna.”

Stella bent over her bottom next to Hayden’s luggage as she ate a lollipop in silence.

“You’ll be in your godmother’s care while I’m away, and you have to listen to her, OK? If she’s late picking you up from Kindergarten, you stay there until I’ve come for you, OK?”

“Okay.” Stella nodded with her pretty face and asked, “Can I ask you a question, Mom?”

“Yes, you can. What is it about?”.

“Did you really break up with Joseph?”

Hayden’s countenance fell as soon as he heard Stella’s question, “Break up? When have we ever been together?”

“You were living with him! Didn’t that count as being in a relationship?” Stella gaped as she looked at Hayden.

“You lived with him?” Alayna shouted in astonishment as the mask had almost fallen off her face, “When was that?”

“It was when you were away on a business trip, godmother!”. Stella remembered the details of everything that had happened sharply as she lamented, “If you weren’t in a relationship with him, why had you moved into his house mommy? And I was so happy for you for no reason.”

Hayden was taken aback by her daughter’s comment and retorted, “Don’t talk nonsense. It was Freddie’s fault that reporters swarmed your house, so I had no choice but to take refuge with Joseph.”

Doubt and suspicion still lingered on Alayna’s face after hearing Hayden’s counterattack, and after a long explanation, she finally nodded reluctantly as she said, “Okay, let’s say you were hiding from the reporters. I still think there’s something going on between you and Joseph, especially since you both have already done it six years ago…”.

Coff, Coff!

It was Hayden’s well-timed, discreet cough that had stopped her from continuing, as Alayna suddenly remembered Stella’s presence in the room and that some things were not meant for the girl to hear. “You should go to bed, Stella. Hurry up and go back to your room now.”

“Like I want to stay here! Hmph!”. Stella pouted as she huffed, “The rich daddy I’m wishing I had and almost got to have is gone. I’m so mad at you, Mommy.”

She stomped back to her room right after she finished her statement.

Alayna shook her head as she watched Stella’s figure disappear backwards. “When are you planning on telling her that Joseph is really her father?”

“I haven’t thought about that yet.”

“She’s already so fond of him, even if she’s in the dark. Aren’t you worried she’ll want to leave with him when she learns the truth?”

“That’s impossible. I know my daughter very well.”

“Wait, this isn’t right.” Alayna removed her mask as she said, “Are you so hard-headed? Why don’t you consider Joseph at all? Don’t you find it odd that he, an admirable CEO, has always looked out for Stella and you? It’s obvious he likes you, Hayden. I’ve even asked Kevin about the cancellation of Joseph’s wedding to that starlet, Violet, and it’s obvious the reason is you.”

“If all that’s true, why is he sending me to a faraway place on a business trip? If that’s the extent of his love for me, I don’t think I can stand it.”

“Oh, come on!” Alayna twitched her lips and continued, “He had already called off his wedding for you, but what he’s gotten in return is for you to feign indifference to him. If it were me, I would have fired you without hesitation.”

“Whose side are you really on?”

“Huh? That’s a good question.” Alayna let out a giggle as she cheekily asked, “Whose side do you think I’m on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you think you’re acting like you’re having a fit of rage? It sounds to me like you’re mad at him, and the two of you are acting like a young couple in love.”

Hayden’s expression froze for a few seconds at Alayna’s comment, and he soon flatly denied, “What nonsense, it’s nothing like that.”

Alayna got fed up with having to convince her otherwise, so she simply said, “Okay then. Anyway, I’m not one to tell you what to do with your love life. There are things that only you know yourself, I just hope you can see who it is that treats you well. I’m going to bed, don’t stay up too late.”

Hayden was left alone in the living room after they had gone to their respective rooms. She sat on the carpet and stared at her packed belongings as her eyebrows furrowed deeply.

…

Violet had just gotten off set work late at night and was resting in a van when the bad news from her assistant made her expression sink, “Only Caesar’s body has been found? What about that detective?”

“He’s been missing until now, and all our previous searches were in vain.”

“Don’t you want to hurry up and speed up the search?”. Violet’s face paled as she muttered, “We’ll get in big trouble if he gets away and gives some of that information to the police.”

“We’ve searched everywhere for him, and even stopped by the inn where he was staying, but to no avail. The employee mentioned that he had not returned for the last two months.”

“…”.